Panel Board Mounting Assistant

ABSTRACT

A fixing device is for temporarily holding a panel board fixed at an edge portion of the panel surface of a building structure, in which, extending from a first end portion, there are first and second fingers separated by a gap with a gap width at least as large as the thickness of the panel hoard and with a length exceeding the width of the panel board, there being a handle extending from the first end portion in the direction of a gap mouth.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the U.S. national stage application of International Application PCT/NO2013/050225, filed Dec. 17, 2013, which international application was published on Jun. 26, 2014, as International Publication WO2014/098511 in the English language. The international application is incorporated herein by reference, in entirety. The international application claims priority to Norwegian Patent Application No. 20131644, filed Dec. 12, 2013, and Norwegian Patent Application No. 20121528, filed Dec. 18, 2012, which are incorporated herein by reference, in entirety.

FIELD

A fixing device for temporarily holding a panel board fixed at an edge portion of the panel surface of a building structure is described.

BACKGROUND

The term “panel board” is not limited to building material that is sawn timber, but also covers building elements formed as chip boards, MDF boards, plastic boards and so on.

Fitting panel boards, especially boards that are provided with joining means of the tongue-and-groove type, can be very demanding if the work has to be carried out by one person. If, in addition, the panel boards are to be mounted on a surface facing downwards, for example under an cave, the work is nearly impossible for one person to carry out alone.

Various types of aids are known, which all have in common that they are fixed to nailing strips (beams, laths etc.) to which the panel boards are to he attached. Examples of such aids are described in the following publications:

DE 2904695 discloses a resilient clamping bow, which is laid against the panel board that is to be held fixed, a spike being driven temporarily into a nailing strip and forming an attachment for the clamping bow.

GB 2346651 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,770,271 each disclose a device that is fixed to a nailing strip, a horizontal arm forming an abutment on which the board may be supported.

The drawback of the prior art mentioned above is that the devices must be fixed to a nailing strip, requiring the operation of a damping device or the like. With GB 2346651 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,770,271, it is the case that there must be free space around the nailing strip. With DE 2904695, it is the case that sufficient power must be provided to drive the fastening spike into the nailing strip, and for hard materials, this will require the use of an impact tool.

DE 419387 discloses a clamp having a fixed gap opening and gripping around a panel board that is to be attached and around the panel board last attached. One damp arm includes two eccentrically supported, rotatable damping plates, which are operated by a handle arranged at the free end of the arm to clamp the panel board against the other clamp arm.

SUMMARY

The invention has for its object to remedy or reduce at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art or at least provide a useful alternative to the prior art.

The object is achieved through features, which are specified in the description below and in the claims that follow.

A fixing device is provided for temporarily holding a panel board fixed flush with an edge portion of a building structure with the panelling completed, in which a gap with a width at least equal to the thickness of the panel board extends from a first end portion towards a second end portion of the fixing device. The gap exhibits a length which, when the fixing device is moved in over a panel board which is to be held fixed and further in over the edge portion which typically consists of an already attached panel board of the same type as the one to be held fixed temporarily by means of the fixing device, gives sufficient control and stability for the board held fixed to remain in its position against the edge portion so that an operator may move the panel board to its final position in the budding structure, which means, for ordinary panel boards, that the groove of the board held fixed engages the tongue on the outer panel hoard attached to the building structure. The total length of the gap depends on the width of the panel boards, the width of the gap and the thickness of the edge portion. With an accurate cut, the fixing device gives sufficient stability when it extends in over the edge portion by a few centimetres, whereas for practical purposes, the fixing device should extend in over the edge portion by one board width at least and give room for a certain movement f the board held fixed, in the longitudinal direction of the gap.

The second end portion of the fixing device forms a handle.

The fixing device may be formed from a plate material, for example veneer, plastic or steel, or it may be moulded, for example in a plastic material.

In a more advanced embodiment, the fixing device may include an adjusting device for the gap width, for the fixing device to be adjusted to boards of another thickness than that of ordinary panel boards.

The invention relates more specifically to a fixing device for temporarily holding a panel board fixed at an edge portion of a panel surface of a building structure, in which, extending from a first end portion towards a gap mouth, there are a first finger and a second finger separated by an adjustable gap with a gap width at least as large as the thickness of the panel board and with a length that exceeds the width of the panel board, wherein a handle extends from the first end portion in the direction of the gap mouth, characterized in that a first coupling element forming a rear portion of the handle, is engaging in a slidable way with a second coupling element extending from an end portion of the second finger.

The length of the gap may be 1½-3 times the width of the panel board, alternatively 1¾-2¾ times the width of the panel board, alternatively 2-2½ times the width of the panel board.

The first finger may be parallel displaceable relative to the second finger.

The first coupling element may be a coupling box, and the second coupling element may be a coupling stem, the coupling box being provided with a clamping screw projecting into the coupling box transversely to the longitudinal axis thereof and through an adjustment slot in the coupling stem to connect to a nut plate resting against the coupling stem.

The coupling box may be integrated in the handle.

The length of at least one of the first and second fingers may be extendable.

A front handle portion may form a connection between the handle and the closest-lying finger.

The coupling box may be provided with a clamping screw projecting into the coupling box and through an adjustment slot in the coupling stem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In what follows, an example of a preferred embodiment is described, which is visualized in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective drawing of a first embodiment of a fixing device according to the invention;

FIG. 2. shows a perspective drawing on a smaller scale of a building structure under construction, in which a panel board is temporarily held in place at an edge portion of a panelled, downward-facing ceiling surface by means of two fixing devices according to the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of a fixing device with an adjustable gap width, on a larger scale;

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the fixing device with fingers of adjustable lengths, in a section on the same scale; and

FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of the fixing device, on a slightly smaller scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the figures, the reference numeral 1 indicates a fixing device for temporarily holding a panel board 23 fixed near an edge portion 221 of the panel surface 22 of a building structure 2, typically a ceiling surface arranged on the lower edge of nailing strips or joists 21.

The fixing device 1 includes two parallel fingers 14, 15 separated by a gap 13 extending through from a first end portion 11 of the fixing device 1 as the fingers 14, 15 project with free ends from the first end portion 11, where a handle or gripping portion 111 is arranged, to a second end portion 12, where the fingers 14, 15 each form a rounded end portion 141, 151. At the end portions 141, 151 of the fingers 14, 15, a gap mouth 131 is formed. The gap 13 has a width sb, which is matched to a thickness t of the type of panel board 23 for which the fixing device 1 has been dimensioned. The length l of the gap 13 is matched to the width b of the panel board 23 and is advantageously 1½-3 times the width b of the panel board 23, more advantageously 1¾-2¾ times the width b of the panel board 23, even more advantageously 2-2½ times the width b of the panel board 23. The gap length l and gap width sb affect the stability of the fixing device 1 when it, as is shown in FIG. 1, is holding a panel board 23 which is to be attached to the building structure 2, and the fingers 14, 15 are moved in on respective sides of the edge portion 221 of the completely panelled surface 22, as it is shown in FIG. 2.

In one embodiment, as it is shown in FIG. 3, the gap width sb is adjustable as the fingers 14, 15 may be parallel-displaced relative to each other. This is shown in principle here by the fixing device 1 including two sections 16, 16′, each including a finger 14 and 15, respectively, The sections 16, 16′ are joined to each other by means of a coupling element, shown here as an adjustment plate 17 with adjustment slots 171 for clamping screws 18 extending through the adjustment slots 171 of the adjustment plate 17.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 3, a finger edge surface facing the gap 13 is provided with a slip coating 19. The purpose of this is to prevent the panel board 23 from becoming scratched or otherwise marked as the fixing device 1 is moved in over or pulled away from the panel board 23 or the edge portion 221 of the panel surface 22.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which shows a principle drawing of a fixing device 1 with fingers 14, 15 of adjustable lengths, as the outer finger portions 142 and 152, respectively, are displaceably attached to the respective fingers 14 and 15, respectively, as plate-shaped adjusting elements 143 and 153, respectively, and clamping screws 144 and 154, respectively, provide releasable, adjustable connections between the outer finger portions 142 and 152, respectively, and the respective fixed parts of the fingers 14 and 15, respectively.

In FIG. 5, a further preferred embodiment of a fixing device 1 having an adjustable us distance between the first and second fingers 14, 15 is shown, a first fixing section 16 being provided, at a second end portion 161 opposite the end portion 141 of the first finger 14, with a first coupling element in the form of a coupling box 145 with a centre-axis direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the finger 14. The coupling box 145 forms a rear portion of the handle 111, which, in this embodiment, extends forwards along a portion of the first finger 14 and at a distance therefrom. A front handle portion 112 forms a front connection between the handle 111 and the first finger 14.

From a second end portion 161′ of a second fixing section 15, a second coupling element 155 in the form of a coupling stem extends substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the second finger 15. The coupling stem 155 is arranged to be displaced axially in the coupling box 145 when the distance between the fingers 14, 15 is being adjusted.

The coupling box 145 is provided with a clamping screw 18 projecting into the coupling box 145 transversely to the longitudinal axis thereof and through an adjustment slot 171 in the coupling stem 155 to connect to a nut plate 181 resting against the coupling stem 155.

A surprising effect of arranging the handle 111 in the way shown in FIG. 5 is that the fixing device 1 may be used for holding a panel board 23 or the like fixed also in the immediate vicinity of a vertical obstacle, for example at the termination of the panel surface 22 at a wall. The fixing device 1 according to the embodiment in FIG. 5 is brought into engagement with the panel board 23 from a position parallel to the longitudinal direction of the panel board 23 by being rotated into a position substantially transversal to the longitudinal direction of the panel board 23. A free space only insignificantly larger than a circle circumscribing the cross section of the coupling stem 145 is then required between the panel board 23 and the obstacle.

Another beneficial effect of arranging the handle 111 as shown in FIG. 5, is that the handle 111 and the front handle portion 112 braces the first finger 14, so that this may, if necessary, be given a more slender form and still exhibit sufficient rigidity.

When, for example, a building structure 2 is to be provided with underlying panelling, typically a ceiling surface underneath a frame of joists, the first panel board is attached to the nailing strips 21. This panel board thereby forms the edge portion 221 of the ceiling surface 22. The next panel board 23 to be attached, is temporarily held fixed to the ceiling surface 22 started, by one or more fixing devices 1 being moved in us over the panel board 23 and further in over the edge portion 221 of the ceiling surface, the panel board 23 being positioned in the gap 13 in the fixing device 1 and the fingers 14, 15 being moved in over, respectively under, the edge portion 221 so that the fixing device 1 is supported by the edge portion 221 of the ceiling surface. The panel board 23 temporarily held fixed can then be moved into engagement with the edge portion 221, the panel board 23 being displaceable along the gap 13. By the gap 13 exhibiting a width sb which is not substantially larger than the thickness t of the panel board 23, for example sb=t+1 mm, the groove and tongue of a matched panel board will roughly lie directly opposite each other, which simplifies the mounting work when the work is carried out by one person. 

1. A fixing device for temporarily holding a panel board fixed at an edge portion of the panel surface of a budding structure, the fixing device comprising: first and second fingers extending from a first end portion towards a gap mouth and separated by an adjustable gap with a gap width at least as large as the thickness of the panel board and with a length exceeding the width of the panel board, wherein a handle extends from the first end portion in the direction of the gap mouth, wherein a first coupling element forming, a rear portion of the handle, is engaging in a slidable way with a second coupling element extending from an end portion of the second finger.
 2. The fixing device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the length of the gap is 1½-3 times the width of the panel board.
 3. The fixing device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the first coupling element is a coupling box, and the second coupling element is a coupling stem the coupling box being provided with clamping screw projecting into the coupling box transversely to the longitudinal axis thereof and through in adjustment slot in the coupling stem to connect to a nut plate resting against the coupling stem.
 4. The fixing device in accordance with claim 3, wherein the coupling box is integrated in the handle.
 5. The fixing device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the length of at least one of the first and second fingers is extendable.
 6. The fixing device in accordance with claim 1, wherein a front handle portion forms a connection between the handle and the closest-lying finger.
 7. The fixing device in accordance with claim 3, wherein the coupling box is provided with a clamping screw projecting into the coupling box and through an adjustment slot in the coupling stem.
 8. The fixing device in accordance with claim 2, wherein the length of the gap is 1¾-2¾ times the width of the panel board.
 9. The fixing device in accordance with claim 2, wherein the length of the gap is 2-2½ times the width of the panel board. 